§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for the last three financial years(a) the number and value of prescriptions in each National Health Service region and express these figures on a per thousand of population basis and (b) the number and value of prescriptions by the source of the prescription in each National Health Service region.
§ Mr. MellorThe information requested can be provided only for calendar years and is set out in the following table:
127W
Number of prescription (million) of which: dispensed by dispensing doctors (million) Total number of prescriptions per population Net ingredient Cost (NIC) (£ million) of which: dispensed by dispensing doctors (£ million) NIC per thousand population (£) North West Thames 22.7 0.5 6,511 99.4 2.0 28,493 North East Thames 26.1 1.1 6,927 107.0 4.6 28,460 South East Thames 25.5 1.1 7,042 108.6 4.3 30,009 South West Thames 19.1 0.7 6,458 85.2 2.6 28,735 Wessex 19.4 1.5 6,753 86.6 6.0 30,124 Oxford 14.9 1.7 5,998 67.0 6.8 27,055 South Western 23.4 2.7 7,375 100.4 10.7 31,600 West Midlands 39.2 1.9 7,569 161.1 1.6 31,098 Mersey 19.9 0.3 8,248 79.4 1.2 32,902 North Western 34.2 0.3 8,563 137.2 1.2 34,376 Total 344.4 21.9 7,289 1,453.1 87.1 30,751 1987 Northern 25.2 1.1 8,202 117.9 4.9 38,312 Yorkshire 29.1 2.6 8,085 129.1 10.9 35,810 Trent 35.9 3.1 7,730 159.5 13.3 34,318 East Anglia 14.2 4.0 7,028 67.0 17.1 33,261 North West Thames 23.4 0.5 6,711 110.8 2.5 31,759 North East Thames 26.9 1.1 7,139 120.3 4.7 31,900 South East Thames 26.4 1.2 7,265 121.7 4.9 33,490 South West Thames 19.6 0.7 6,612 94.9 2.9 32,061 Wessex 20.2 1.5 6,948 97.7 6.8 33,634 Oxford 15.4 1.8 6,175 75.5 7.7 30,180 South Western 24.3 2.9 7,591 113.6 12.3 35,424 West Midlands 41.1 2.0 7,912 182.7 8.8 35,154 Mersey 21.0 0.3 8,701 89.9 1.3 37,315 North Western 35.7 0.3 8,939 155.6 1.4 38,990 Total 358.5 23.2 7,562 1,636.1 99.5 34,514 Note: These figures relate to prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors within the family practitioner service but do not include items personally administered by prescribing doctors. The vast majority of prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacies are written by prescribing general medical practitioners but they also include a small number of prescriptions written by dentists, hospital doctors for outpatients, service doctors and doctors on board ship. Prescribing by hospital doctors (except as specified above) is not included as this information is not available centrally.